Sleeping on one’s side reduces Alzheimer’s and Parkinson diseases

It also suggests fewer chances of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. Using their research, they have concluded that certain sleep positions, such as sleeping on your side, are more effective at ridding the brain of waste than others, including sleeping on the back or stomach.

The researchers also noted that the lateral position, or sleeping on one’s side, is most popular among both humans and most animals, even those in the wild.

Researchers say that given that many more humans and animals sleep on their side, this could be an evolutionary way to try and protect the brain from disease. It removes toxic chemicals from the brain, including amyloid beta and tau proteins – proteins that are main indicators of Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers used a dynamic contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) together with computer modeling to measure and evaluate the CSF-ISF exchange in the brains of rodents placed in lateral (lying on side), prone (lying on stomach), and supine (lying on back) position. The method enables researchers to identify and define the glymphatic pathway, where cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) filters through the brain and exchanges with interstitial fluid (ISF) to clear waste, similar to the way the body’s lymphatic system clears waste from organs. Glymphatic transport and Aβ clearance were superior in the lateral and supine positions in optical imaging and radiotracer studies.

Most people know that a good night’s sleep is important for optimal health, but it turns out the position you sleep in plays a role as well. This lateral position could prove to be the best position for the brain-waste clearance process.

The study led by Helene Benveniste, Professor of Anesthesiology at Stony Brook University, New York, investigated the process after past studies suggested that the brain is better at removing the harmful substances in the brain during sleep.

Up next Benveniste and colleagues are working to study how the glymphatic system can be controlled and maintained over a lifetime in order to maximize waste clearance and to prevent neurodegenerative diseases.

“The study therefore adds further support to the concept that sleep subserves a distinct biological function of sleep and that is to “clean up” the mess that accumulates while we are awake”, Nedergaard said.

The study was published earlier this week, in the Journal of Neuroscience.

‘Many types of dementia are linked to sleep disturbances, including difficulties in falling asleep. “It is increasingly acknowledged that these sleep disturbances may accelerate memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease”.

Getting enough deep sleep helps the brain clear out waste products that could lead to Alzheimer’s disease.